FAMBAM 2021 - Fall into Jesus
Fall FAMBAM 2021 with the theme “Fall into Jesus” was a big blessing and a success in many ways. First, being able to have an inter-church retreat in person in the greater NY area is the first of its kind since the pandemic. The fact that we were able to accomplish this gives the leaders hope that we can safely and successfully hold events like this in the future.
Our speaker, Pastor Youngki Chang of Eldasom Loma Linda Korean SDA Church, was the perfect guest speaker for the occasion. His powerful sermons delivered inspiring messages while sharing some spellbinding testimonies. His sermons revealed a loving and awesome God that moves in spectacular ways in our lives. This pandemic proved a boon to FAMBAM in that we were able to book Pastor Chang, since he is such a sought-after speaker.
A great blessing was had when on Saturday night a small group of leaders and participants were able to have an intimate and heartwarming time of sharing and testimony with Pastor Chang. Also on Sunday morning, Pastor Chang shared his experiences in 37 years of ministry that really inspired and instructed the leaders. The youth pastors, Bible workers, and lay leaders in NY/NJ area ministries were truly blessed and edified by these meetings.
Fall FAMBAM 2021 was a great opportunity for the area church leaders to collaborate together in planning and executing this event. Pastor Jay Cheong of Central New Jersey Church was a liaison between the facility and the leadership team. Also, he and his wife picked up Pastor Chang and hosted him during the weekend. Pastor David Lee from Northern New York led out the praise music. Kelsey Ahn from New York Central added great administrative support throughout the planning. Eric Chung from Westchester was a great translator for the sermons. Jane Chung from Westchester was the secretary for the team and led out the Children’s ministry. Kevin Maravilla and Clive Poyser from Westchester Church added a lot of support for the children’s ministry. Roy Kim from Staten Island was a supportive and active team member as well.
The children’s program was very successful. We introduced a new feature, a puppet show. The children loved it and were very engaged in the Bible stories and crafts. In the second session of the children’s program, they made their own puppets and were excited to put on their own puppet show. The beautiful fall weather also made possible outdoor activities such as photo scavenger hunts and leaves collecting for a craft project. For attendance, we had 10 children in the first session and 5 in the second session.
Friday’s attendance was 13 and Saturday’s main service was about 38. But many people joined for the livestream and many more will be able to listen to the sermons from the recordings.
The bonfire time on Saturday night was a great time of fellowship, bonding, and sharing S’mores. Although the damp weather made the fire building challenging, a warm and bright fire was started for everyone to enjoy. Pastor David Lee played wonderful music on his guitar through the bonfire time to add even more blessings.
Technology was a blessing and a challenge during the event. Livestreaming was tested out before the event and was set to go. Friday’s livestreaming went without a hitch. But Saturday’s livestreaming was very spotty and didn’t go as smoothly. We believe that a combination of factors including; the weather, WIFI from the facility not being very strong, and overuse of WIFI from many people’s use contributed to faulty livestreaming. But fortunately, all the sermons were recorded on another device and the recordings will be available for others to hear on our FAMBAM.SDA page on Instagram in the near future.
The leadership was very blessed to see Pastor Sangki Ahn and his church members attend for the Sabbath afternoon service. Also Pastor Jae Shin from Staten Island attended as well. The FAMBAM leaders were really buoyed and encouraged to have KM leadership show up and support the event.
Even though some churches could not participate, we had great financial support from the churches by raising $1800 in church dues. We were also able to raise about $617 in offerings from in-person and online offerings. This is a significant jump in offerings from the online FAMBAM events.
Organizing this event made the EM church leaders realize the importance of collaborating and joining forces to hold future events in the New York/New Jersey area. We will plan for joint events throughout the year that will focus on strategic age groups such as children and young adults.
God was truly lifted during FAMBAM fall 2021. In the fellowship, sermons, and gatherings, Jesus’ love was shared. Those who participated really soaked in the heavenly atmosphere during the event. We all truly “fell into Jesus”. We pray that in 2022, FAMBAM will be even better attended and supported.
To see photos of the event, go to: